The Murderess
by moxiebird
Summary: Levi's life is hard enough, constantly babysitting the most idiotic group of soldiers in existence. Then he is shackled with the responsibility of caring for two spoiled nobles for a month. When a headless corpse of a Garrison soldier is found, Levi finds himself entangled in a conspiracy, with only a series of letters, and a headstrong, but untrustworthy maid to help him.
1. Chapter 1

**A few notes: the word garrison has two definitions, a place where troops live, or a group of troops protecting a town/city. For ****_the_**** Garrison, I capitalize the "G". For garrison, as in where Levi and his troops live I don't capitalize the "g". Hopefully I don't make any mistakes on this.**

**Also, aristocracy naming is incredibly complicated. My American brain is completely unable to comprehend how the titles work. Since this takes place after the apocalypse, though, I figure rules wouldn't be the same anyway. I just refer to the gentry as Lord and Lady Fluer. **

**Chapter 1**

The Fluer family arrived in a hub of noise and motion. They were beautiful, the type of beauty that wealth tends to create, with good food and lack of strenuous labor. They made those around them look thin and pale.

The family was composed of Lady Fluer and Lord Fluer. Around them bustled servants, unloading their luggage and shouting orders, like frantic bees tending to a hive. The Fluers, in delicate, lacy clothes, shown out among them. Lady Fluer made a sort of gasping sound, pressing a hand to her forehead _"such a long, tiresome journey."_ Lord Fluer barked some order. The hive buzzed louder in response.

Looking down from window of the garrison, Levi felt the coil of disgust deep in his gut tighten. Rot and filth came in many forms. He was familiar from birth with slime ridden streets, with blank-eyed, starving citizens, wallowing in their own shit, but with experience he had come to learn that there was another sort of rot, that of the rich, tended by the poor. They were often like a cancer upon society, appearing harmless to other cells, but spreading disease throughout the body.

Still, Erwin Smith had said something or another about this family being particularly important. Funding to the survey Corps and all that. He had explained that the Smith family and the Fluer family were old allies. Old money, good blood, and all that; be sure to grovel plenty. He might not have said it in those exact words.

Levi allowed himself a small _tsk_, a sound he often made when he found a spot of titan blood on his clothing during battle, before heading down the stairs to greet them. His expression blank, eyes already heavy lidded with boredom.

The Fluers would be staying at the garrison for one month. The idea was that they would see how their funding was being spent, and negotiate with Erwin on future donations.

This caused several inconveniences. It meant that soldiers of a higher rank, who were used to having their own rooms, were being crammed together in order to make room for the swarm of servants the Fluers had brought along with them. The mood, as a result, was almost mutinous; you didn't want to undercut the benefits of being of a higher rank if you could. Rank was a promise: work hard, sloth through years of titan slaying and steady practice, and you just might get a room to yourself. Really, some were muttering, what was the point of even _trying_ to save humanity if you couldn't eventually get the chance to fart as loudly as you wanted without being judged by a roommate?

Worse was the food needed to feed the leeches. It would be taking a considerable chunk out of the Corp's budget. Nobles were a breed of creatures that required heavy maintenance. There was to be fresh greens, butter for the bread, and honey for the tea. Then there was the meat. Meat! They expected meat at their meals, at least once a week, Erwin had explained.

Lady Fluer would be a particular food vacuum; she was famous for her demands. Levi had already had to try to procure duck liver pate for her tea. She was a large woman, caked with layers of powder that cracked and ran with her sweat. She reminded him of a tick, bloated with blood. Once, in her more youthful years it was said, she was a truly beautiful woman, catching the eyes of all men. Now she was still trying to grab back that attention. Fainting fits, and dizzy spells, odd headaches––she suffered from these fabricated symptoms of exotic diseases, which required even more exotic and expensive cures. _She is,_ her husband said, _a very delicate woman_. She was also a very short tempered woman, Levi noted; he could hear her from inside the building as he headed down a corridor towards the entrance, screeching at one of the servants.

Lord Fluer was a proper gentleman, which meant he liked yelling at servants in his foghorn voice, and racing across the countryside hunting small creatures. His flat, dark grey eyes might have once helped create an air of stern character. However, the whites around them were now stained a dull yellow, jaundice from the alcohol he drank. He smiled too much, gambled to much, and patted people on the back forgetting their names and calling them instead "old sport". Still he was the better of the bunch, Lord Fluer did not have a plotting mind, or any great ambition; he plodded along in the honorable footsteps of his ancestors, sometimes prodded here and there by his wife.

Lady Fluer made a sort of excited huffing sound when Levi came into view, hand across her chest. "Why it is humanities strongest." Levi noted the bright smile, but also the quick look over she did of his body, clearly noting his height. There was a small smirk on her lips at the end.

If Levi actually cared for their opinions, actually respected them, he would have done a military salute. Hand behind back, hand over heart, it was one of the few gestures that he truly valued. However, he cared little for the idiots, and so chose to bow. He was tempted to be stingy, but Erwin was standing nearby, eyes boring into him, so the bow he gave was almost sarcastically low.

Even so, there was something almost triumphant in the eyes of Lady Fluer when he rose; he suspected his reputation for disregarding other's attentions must have spread. Although the gesture had meant little to him, he felt a bitter feeling deep in his stomach when he saw her eyes. She gave a shallow curtsy in response.

Lord Fluer was shouting with his bugle-like voice at one of the servants, something about being careful with that thing, gosh darn it.

Lady Fluer turned to the figure shadowing her. The maid stood a ways back, shuffling awkwardly to keep out of the hub of activity, head bowed under her traveling hood. "Jacinta, deal with that trunk." The Lady pursed her lips. "Roger seems to be making a bit of a mess of it…"

The woman ran forward. The valet, Roger, was passing down the trunk to one of Levi's men. Both of them seemed to be doing a truly remarkable job at making a relatively easy task as dangerous as possible. There was a sharp cry from one of them, and the trunk began to slip sideways. The maid, running forward, caught it with a grunt, but it still continued fall to the side. Levi ran forward and caught ahold of the opposite end before it hit the ground. He was impressed by the its weight.

"Dear god," said Lady Fluer, "Jacinta, _be careful,_ for heaven's sake. You nearly killed someone." She turned to Levi, who was attempting the maneuver the trunk on his shoulder into a better position, a difficult task since he had to coordinate with the much taller Jacinta. "Really, she can be quite careless sometimes."

The girl said nothing, except for a quiet, outer wall accented, _thank you_ to Levi.

Levi ignored her. "Private Marden!" he said addressing the soldier who had been trying to catch the trunk before. "Get your head out of your ass and make yourself useful. This shouldn't be so difficult."

The trunk was ungainly enough that Levi had to rely on Jacinta's help. He could simply pass it off to another man, but he wanted any excuse possible to get away from the Fluers. They shuffled awkwardly through the open doorway, the hallway, and to the stairs.

Jacinta had to move backwards while going up the stairs. She shrugged back the cloak she was wearing to reveal a flushed face. She had the reddest hair Levi had ever seen, such a deep color that it was almost ripe cherries, or even pooled blood; it hung in a long braid.

She didn't meet his eyes; stepping backwards she grimaced under the weight of the trunk. It was only when they had reached the room, and put it down, that either one of them bothered to look at the other. Levi studied Jacinta, while she looked around room with vague curiosity, eyes grey, sharp as flint. She brushed back a loose strand of hair, and looked towards Levi.

"Thank you." Was her outer wall accent less thick now, or was it merely his imagination? She held out a hand to shake. Levi ignored it; her palm was likely sweaty and dirty from work.

She took back her hand and wiped it on her apron, as if to clean herself of the rude experience. A small smile flashed across her face with a sort of half eye-roll. "Too dirty to touch, huh?" she teased. Her tone was light hearted, but something sharp flickered behind her eyes.

"It's unhygienic, that's all." Levi said. He started to turn to walk towards the door, but Jacinta opened her mouth, and then closed it, almost like she was tasting her words to see if they would be good to speak. She opened her mouth again.

Levi was an impatient man. "Spit it out." he said cooly.

"You're ruder than I thought you'd be." She opened the chest and began to pull out clothes, ignoring him. He was surprised by her familiarity. He knew he was somewhat of a celebrity, that people called him all sorts of things, like "humanities strongest". He was not embarrassed about it, and thought little of the resulting reaction from girls––gasping, cooing, or gushing.

Jacinta was not gushing. This was vaguely annoying. She was regarding the wrinkles in a dress critically. She was tall, the dress would reach only down to her knees. Its fluffiness made an amusingly awkward barrier between them, extending out almost two feet in front of her. From behind it he assessed her, all the dirt and imperfections: the frizz where the back of her braid met her collar, the grease stain on her apron, the shadowed half moons of sweat under her arms, and the thin dusting of travel dirt that coated her… yes, smelling faintly of manure. Noticing such details was a game he enjoyed playing with people that annoyed him, that was, most people. She looked up at him, eyes narrowing slightly.

"Jacinta!" The call came from down the stairs.

"Yes, m'lady?" When she replied. the accent came back, almost thicker than before.

"Come HERE Jacinta." yelled Lady Fluer. Levi could hear her muttering loudly "By the mighty walls, what the is wrong with that girl."

Jacinta put down the dress on the bed nearby. As she headed out into the hallway, her shoulders rolled forward, her head bowed slightly. Levi stood in the door frame while Jacinta stepped out.

"Jacinta, dear god, were have you been!?" hissed Lady Fluer, then she saw Levi and drew back abruptly. "Aw, the warrior Levi," her voice was bright and cordial. "I see you've met my lady's maid. I hope she hasn't been two much of a bother." she laughed as though she had told a very funny joke. Levi noted that she had not yet addressed him as captain.

Jacinta kept her head bowed.

"One of the cases was heavy." said Levi. "She needed help."

"Is that so, Jacinta." The woman's long fingernails were painted red, they gripped the handrail next to her, like a bird on a perch.

Jacinta nodded. "Yes, m'lady. It is how he speaks."

Lady Fluer laughed again. "Gosh, she has such a very thick accent, don't you think." she turned to Levi. "We've tried to teach her how to speak properly, all of us, but you see she comes from one of those very poor outer villages. Little huts and such––they're not a very cultured group of people. Most of the time I can barely understand her. Isn't that right, Jacinta." she spoke slowly and loudly when talking to the girl.

"Yes, m'lady."

"God," said Lady Fluer, she shook her head towards Levi. "Truly impossible." She then turned back towards Jacinta. "Come with me, girl, and help me get ready for the luncheon."

-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-

Jacinta walked slowly by Lady Fluer, keeping her head bowed, and her shoulders hunched. Levi's look when she had left, that of faint amusement, stung deep. This had surprised her, as she had not felt such shame in a long time. When she had first been forced to act this way, to bow her head down, to hunch her shoulders, to _diminish _herself, she had ached with a sort of deep rage, but by now she had grown so accustomed to the hurt that she hardly felt it anymore.

Long ago, Jacinta had come to realize that there were several things that people wanted from a lone woman and servant that were not explicitly told. One of these is that they expected you to be lesser.

The most important thing was that you should always try to make others notice you as little as possible. If you had beauty, you tried your best to undermine it, if you had talent, you kept it hidden, if you had education, you played dumb.

Jacinta's mother had once told her that no one could take their pride from them, that they might be poor and desperate, but they always would have their freedom in their dignity. This was not true, for they could take your dignity and pride from you if you showed it; they would kick you down, smother you, until you had none of it left. Better to hide it away, keep it somewhere deep inside, wear a mask over your face, and laugh at them behind it.

Jacinta had perfected this art; she had built a mask, from hunched shoulders, blank eyes, and an accent thick in outer wall jilt. It was like a magic trick, only instead of palming a coin or slipping a card up her sleeve, Jacinta was stashing away her pride to create the illusion that it did not exist.

But the thing with magic tricks is that they only worked if people didn't understand them. With Levi she had been incautious. She was unused to seeing other people outside of the nobility, and her immediate reaction to Levi and the Corps was to think they were like her. But they were strangers; they knew nothing of each other. She would stay clear of him in the future.

-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-

Coming through the crowd, Levi bowed to Lord Fluer quickly while the man was still somewhat distracted, hoping to get it over with without much recognition. Clearly the gods were not on his side. Fluer caught him out of the corner of his eye and beamed. His smile had too much teeth. He bowed a short bow back, and then caught Levi roughly by the arm, shaking it. "Here, here, humanities strongest. Look at him. Titans feeling the sting of your blade?"

"Refreshments are inside," Levi replied. He wasn't even going to bother trying to respond to all of that shit. Erwin was giving Levi a long look. Erwin's interactions with Levi were often composed almost entirely of long looks. This one translated roughly to _behave yourself._

"Come with me," Levi said to Lord and Lady Fluer.

Lord Fluer seemed caught off guard by Levi's brusque response; there was a startled pause before he slapped Levi roughly in the back. "Ah! Always working, huh?" he beamed. Levi met his gaze with a leveling, unenthusiastic look.

Inside, they lounged in an area that had until recently been used for storing extra gear. The Corps had just cleaned it out a few days ago to make a parlor-like area. Lounging in faded arm chairs that had been dredged up from god-knows-where, they drank lukewarm brandy. The Corps hadn't had ice for a long while, and although they had ordered a shipment, it was yet to arrive. Flies buzzed listlessly around the hot room. Lord Fluer made a face as he took a sip.

Levi's glass remained untouched on the armrest. Idly, he prayed that the ice would arrive soon, it would be bothersome trying to keep the meats fresh if it did not.

Around him he could hear the insistent chatter of the Fluers and Erwin. Various members of the Corps where placed on display. Here's blond girl, can take down titans with her eyes closed. Here's freckly guy, who can destroy the titans single handedly. Here's kid who doesn't brush teeth enough, finest of humanity. The Survey Corps spoke with nervous little smiles, lots of hand gestures, and m'lords and ladies in their sentences. It was revolting. The only thing Levi seemed incapable of beating out of them was their respect for pointless authority

When he felt that he could stay no longer without shitting himself from boredom, Levi stood up. "The troops need training." He said. He could feel Erwin scowling at him.

"Oh! That would be ever so exciting to see!" said Lady Fluer. "I've always wanted to see titan fighting."

His head truly did throb. He wanted nothing more than to be out sailing through the trees without dealing with these shit-headed nobles. However, that was clearly not an option. He gritted his teeth, while outwardly shrugging in all casualness. "You can come if you would like."

Levi did not look back to see if the lady was following him as he got up, but he could hear the rustle of her skirts, and, as they headed down the long hallway that led out into the courtyard, her heavy breathing. Inwardly sighing, he slowed his steps.

They had rounded the corner and came across Jacinta carrying a large box. Her face was flushed from exertion, and few more strands of her long red hair had escaped from her braid; she blinked to try to get them out of her eyes.

"Jacinta!" Lady Fluer hollered. "Is that field dress for me pressed and ironed? The burgundy one."

Jacinta put down the box she was carrying, and did a quick curtsey. "No my lady. I'm afraid I didn't even pack that one. I thought you wanted the yellow one, with roses. I haven't pressed and ironed it either." Her voice was humble.

Lady Fluer, shoulders hunched with rage, walked over to Jacinta. Jacinta was leaning back against the wall, but stood a good head length above the woman. Fluer stood on her toes to press her a few inches from Jacinta. She hissed words rapidly, too low for Levi to make out. Jacinta made no response but to blink, slowly, once or twice, her eyes dull and dumb.

Lady Fluer finished, huffing slightly with the strain of her exertions. She turned back towards Levi, who was leaning against the wall opposite wall. "She's a basket case really." Turning back towards Jacinta, "Get me my coat at least, the blue one; even you can do that."

-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-

The troops, without Levi, clearly had very limited idea of what they were supposed to do. Someone had organized some half hearted drills, but those had quickly disintegrated into dice games, sword fighting with sticks, or simply dozing out in the sun.

Blake Cumberland was enacting a particularly agonized death at the hands of his foe Suzana Morganston. His agonized expression turned to real and instant fear when he spotted Levi coming through the door.

"Sir!" he said, quickly straightening up and saluting; the others followed suit.

"Despicable." said Levi. Normally he would have made them run until they puked, but it was going to be a bad few weeks. The troops, crammed into even smaller quarters would be eating the scraps of the nobles' dinners. Lots of leftover potatoes in thin broths. They might as well enjoy a little bit of peace from time to time while Levi and Erwin were distracted. Still, their ignorance of his opinion could be useful. He smiled slightly, watching them scamper faster than ever to obey his orders after he told them that they were heading to do 3D maneuver gear drills.

Levi stationed Lady Fluer and Jacinta back aways from the center of the drill ground so that they wouldn't be getting in the way. It seemed that it was expected that a Lady's maid follow her mistress on excursions, in cased she needed to be urgently waited upon. However, Levi had a hunch that Lady Fluer was dragging along Jacinta simply to cause more misery to the girl, sucking time away that she would use to do other work.

"They're smaller than I expected," said Lady with a small smirk on her face, gazing at the wooden models.

She was trying to seem cocky and sexy, but nothing pissed Levi off like when someone undermined the nature of the troops work.

"Some titans are that size," said Jacinta quietly. "Some are smaller, many are larger."

Lady Fluer snarled, pearl like teeth flashing as she spoke. "Well, I forgot we had a real live titan fighter on our hands here. Having any dramatic flashbacks now that you're seeing the enemy again?"

Jacinta stiffened, her hands twisted around each other.

-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-

As they went through the exercises––first some simple warm ups, and then some real "titan" slaying of wooden models––Levi watched Lady Fluer out of the corner of his eye for amusement. While at first she looked interested, but she quickly became bored. She fidgeted, while flicking her white ostrich feather fan impatiently back and forth. Jacinta, sitting next to her, paid them little notice, quietly mended an item of clothing which she had brought along.

He, himself, simply instructed the troops. He hated being put on display, and anyways, he usually did his practices separately from others.

It was growing darker. The shadows of the wooden titans lengthened and became ever more ferocious beasts before blending into darkness. The air smelled of the troops' sweat, and the wet of the growing dew. A mournful bird sang somewhere in the distance.

Levi eased their practices up a little. Like horses after a long run they needed to be cooled off before they rested. Tired, their gleeful, and boastful shouts had faded, and now there was only the soft whir of the gear lines being shot out. It was because of this that Levi could hear the sound of galloping hoof beats.

Turning back to the direction that the noise was coming from, he could see Jacinta and Lady Fluer where already looking in the direction of the noise. An ever wary extinct in him caused him to walk briskly over to them to apprehend any possible threat.

Something was off. As the horse came into view he could be seen that the rider was half off the saddle, one arm dragging over brambles along the path.

Levi ran forward along the path, arms outstretched in an attempt to halt the horse. He had never been good with animals, but horseback riding was a large part of his work, and so he had some knowledge in how to calm a spooked beast.

It reared, eyes rolling in their sockets, but with soft noises Levi was able to calm it. It was soaked with blood, the source of which became immediately clear.

Lady Fluer, calling out indignantly and running up to investigate, halted abruptly when she saw it; spreading a steady pool of blood unto the forest floor was the stump of the rider's neck, glistening like molten rubies int he fading light, emerald cloak stained nearly black with gore.

**Hope you enjoy! Favorite and comment if you did. Leave reviews. You guys know the drill.**


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Lady Fluer whimpered. As she collapsed, her dress billowed around her like a deflating soufflé. Jacinta, right behind her, let her fall, before stepping over her.

The red-head's face blanched when she came into full few of the body. Behind her, the Corps were beginning to come in for landings, rushing forward to see what was going on. Their loud voices only further spooked the horse. As it reared, eyes rolling, Levi narrowly missed having his head smashed. Jacinta quickly grabbed the reins. Her body language shifted, becoming gentle, but authoritative, and as she quieted the beast, her voice was soothing and level.

Levi had never had much luck with animals. He could not master the subtle shift of tone, the soft touch, necessary to calm them. He suspected that this was partly because he never could develop the skill. In the underground no one owned pets, and useful animals, for meat or work, would be far to expensive. He left Jacinta to the horse before turning to the gathering soldiers. Used to dealing with difficult situations, with scared, confused troops, Levi hardly had to think before speaking.

"All right, nothing to see here. Get your lazy asses back to the garrison, for Sina's sake. Two of you, take Lady Fluer back," he said, casting a stern glance here and there to make sure the soldiers got the message. They worked quickly to obey Levi's orders, eager to avoid his wrath. Eventually, only a few of them remained: those who were too shit-brained to see that Levi clearly wasn't up for dealing with them. "Anderson, Michael! For Sina's sake, get your heads out of your asses. If you want to be helpful, go and get a tarp to bring the body back." With quick _yes sirs_ and glances back at the body, the two men left.

Jacinta was still soothing the horse, petting its flank and speaking softly to it. The creature was breathing heavily, making scared little snorts, while saliva foamed around its mouth. However, it seemed to be calming. Levi noted that blood caked her hands. He shuddered slightly, a tingle of revulsion traveling up his spine.

Jacinta looked up. Her eyes, set out from a face bleached of all color now, studied him. They narrowed. "Help me," she said. "I'm going to untie him from this side; make sure he doesn't hit the ground too hard."

Jacinta continued to speak softly to the horse as she and Levi worked on removing the corpse. As he got closer to her, he could hear that her calming speech was a mixture of swears and endearments. He could smell her very faintly, even through the blood and horse sweat, a bitter-sweet scent of herbs.

Her hand kept on slipping on the bloody rope, which had grown tighter at the rider had fallen to one side. Levi was about to come over and help, cutting through with his own sword, but she drew out a slender object from the pocket of her pinafore, which revealed itself to be a switchblade. Teeth gritted, she cut through the rope quickly.

The corpse slid over onto Levi. He grunted under the awkward weight, spreading his feet, while inwardly shuddering when he felt something ooze down the back of his neck.

Moving to the other side, Jacinta quickly cut through the remaining ropes. Levi laid the man out gently, and then kneeled beside him, to study the body more easily. Jacinta continued to calm to the horse, but remained close by.

Levi felt a faint flare of irritation at her presence, but, ignoring it, continued his investigation. The badge identifying the man was completely soaked in blood, but its embroidery was textured enough to show a large, throned rose, along with a number revealing the regiment he belonged to, and his identity. Levi could already tell he was from the 12th regiment of the Garrison. He stared more intently at the corpse, willing for important details to stand out.

"Check his pockets," said Jacinta. Levi looked up, but she had already turned her attention back to the horse. It was only after a long stare that she made eye contact. "To check for a message."

Levi did not say anything, but he did as Jacinta asked. Another person might have been squeamish about rummaging through a dead-man's pockets, but he had dealt with enough death to not feel any shame. As he bowed his head down to look into the through them, he could feel Jacinta grey eyes on his back, once again. When he glanced up, he noted how calm Jacinta looked. The horse, too, had settled as well, better than one might expect. Although Levi did know much about animals, he knew that they were often perceptive to people's emotion.

There was the sound of Anderson and Michael crashing through the bracken as they made their way to the site. Levi inwardly rolled his eyes. By the walls, they made more sound that a fifteen foot titan.

They arrived, flush faced and panting, nearly spooking the horse again.

"Oh," said Anderson, turning to Jacinta, seeming to register her presence for the first time. "A lady really shouldn't have to be here." He smiled, and reached to take the reins from her. Jacinta's face was blank as she passed them over, but Levi could see her right hand clench slightly. Her careful passivity, when she clearly didn't enjoy her status as a "lady", annoyed him.

"Jacinta's fine with blood," said Levi, not looking up. "You've been around a dead body a few times, haven't you?"

"Yes." Her voice was quiet. She looked around, noting that everyone seemed to be looking for an explanation. "My mother was a physician."

"Surely there was nothing this terrible, though?" asked Michael, incredulous.

"It was a small district––one of the outliers––we mostly farmed. There was a lot of heavy equipment and large animals. More accidents happened than you'd think."

"So, do you know anything about medicine?" asked Anderson.

"Yes." said Jacinta, "It was information passed down from mother to daughter in my family."

Michael's curiosity was clearly piqued. He asked, "Does that mean you can tell us about the murder from the state of the corpse here?"

Jacinta looked uncomfortable. Levi leaned back on his heals, watching her. She spoke softly, looking at the ground. "The brutality looks like it must of been outlaws of some sort; they took his gear, too. The way they tied him up like this for us to find is… disturbing." She peered close to the wound. "He was killed very recently, judging by the blood, and the lack of rigor mortis, I'd say within an hour. Close to here. The horse must have simply gone running along the trails."

"Bandits." Michael's eyes narrowed. "The bastards." he blushed suddenly, looking at Jacinta. "Pardon my language."

Jacinta didn't even twitch to show her annoyance.

With that, they silently set to work. The tarp was laid out, and Anderson moved to give Jacinta back the reins, to lead to horse back. "No," said Levi. "She's already filthy; it's pointless getting another person bloodstained. You two take the horse back; me and Jacinta can take the corpse."

Levi waited a second to take up his end of the tarp, until the two other men were out of earshot.

"So," said Jacinta, as they lifted the body. "What is it you wanted to say?"

"There was no note," said Levi. Since it was her idea to check for one, he thought she ought to know. He was also curious about her reaction. Her face remained blank, but something flickered behind her eyes.

"There might not have been a message," she suggested.

Levi didn't say anything, but it made no sense. The Garrison didn't just send men out on trail rides to the Corps for fun. The man had likely been carrying a message, which someone had taken deliberately.

* * *

It was hardly a half an hour after bringing the corpse back to the garrison. The powder dish exploded next to Jacinta's head into a thousand tiny slivers of porcelain. It was pity; it had been the pretty one with the roses painted on it, and the gold platted rim. Jacinta peered out from between her fingers. In the beginning, before she knew that the easiest course of action was to cower when Lady Fluer fell into one of her rages, she used to try to stand tall, and straight, and look the woman right in the eye. She still had a scar from that, a thin crescent-moon of tissue to the far right of her chin.

She was not afraid. She had been before, but now by some paradox, when she cowered the most, she felt nothing.

Lady Fluer panted. Then she groaned and clutched her side. "My medicine," she growled as she collapsed onto the bed. Her voice entered a near hiss-like pitch. "Get me my medicine, you little bitch."

Jacinta did as the Lady asked. The vial of medicine was kept on the makeshift vanity table that she had constructed: a bureau, with a hand mirror propped up, and Lady Fluer's various dishes of ointment and powder organized around it. She reached for a blue, cut-glass vial. The liquid inside was a milky sludge.

Lady Fluer grabbed it from Jacinta, her hands clammy and cold. Unstopping the lid with a soft pop, she took a gulp of the liquid, still glaring at Jacinta. Passing the vial back, she said to Jacinta only one word: "Go."

Jacinta left quietly. When she stepped out into the hallway she slid down next to the door. She felt a deep rage. However, it was not towards Lady Fluer, but rather herself and the hollowness inside her. It was odd to feel herself split in such a way, one half hating the other. There was no other way, she told herself; there was no point in rebelling openly where they could trample you down, crush you.

Then came darker deeper thoughts, and her vision started to bleed together slightly. She slid her head between her knees, trying to breathe in the smell of the floor cleaner that had been used here, instead of the blood that she could still almost imagine. She concentrated on the wood grains in the board, on the pulled stitch in her stockings. She did not picture the black of the stump left from the injury, on the stickiness she had felt when touching him. She most certainly didn't picture that time before, the sound of flies buzzing, and a lock of cherry red hair plastered to the woman's forehead.

Eventually, her breathing slowed, and the room stopped spinning. She stood up, steadying herself against the wall for a second, before walking forward. It was just in time, as there was the sound of light footsteps coming up the stairs.

A figure of a young woman came into view. Jacinta struggled to remember her name. She had light ginger hair, and pretty features. Petra: that was who she was. Her eyes, as they rested on Jacinta, radiated a warm kindness, but underneath their puppyish glow, Jacinta also sensed a slight distrust, a military instinct.

"Are you alright Jacinta?" she asked warmly.

"Just fine." She replied, with a small, polite smile. She kept her thick outer wall accent. While it might be useful to alienate those from the inner wall, it was useful for the opposite reason in the outer wall. She knew well enough from growing up in a small village that an inner wall accent would often be viewed with suspicion.

"You're bleeding," said Petra, gesturing towards Jacinta's forehead.

Jacinta reached a hand up to touch her forehead. It came away stained scarlet. There was a long stream of blood, sticky to the touch, down the side of her face. She must had been hit with a shard from powder dish. It had already clotted, thankfully. "I hit my head putting some things underneath a bed," she lied. "I must have got it then."

"Oh," said Petra. She looked like she wanted to say something, but she didn't. Jacinta realized that Petra didn't believe her. It was an odd feeling to have someone so clearly distrustful of her, and she was surprised when instead of that making her dislike the young woman, she felt a thrilling sort of delight at having met someone so clearly intelligent. However, although Petra as a person was a pleasant surprise, the situation itself terrified her, as she knew the risk. Giving a small, polite nod, she started to walk away.

"Wait," said Petra. "Do you want to join us down stairs, for some drinks and chatting?"

Jacinta tried to put on her warmest smile; she hadn't done so in a while, and it felt somewhat bizarre. "Sorry, I have to do some laundry."

Petra's gaze flickered for a second, but she replied warmly. "Okay, that's just fine, but you can come and see us whenever you want."

Jacinta nodded again, politely. When she walked away, she tried to keep her posture unassuming, small and hunched. She felt Petra's gaze on her back, and a deep fear inside of her. The image of the corpse kept on resurfacing. She knew that the brutality of the murder could only mean one thing: it was intended as a warning to others.

* * *

Meanwhile, Levi was babysitting the Fluers. Erwin had received word that there had been a murder, and had ridden on one the fastest horses to the Garrison to tell them what had occurred, and find out what he could. This meant that someone had to be left to entertain their guests, and the task fell to Levi. While Lady Fluer rested up in her room from the shock she had suffered, Levi sat with Lord Fluer in their makeshift drawing room. Levi was not pleased with this. He sipped slowly away at his tea, while silently praying for Erwin to return as quickly as possible. Lord Fluer, across from him, guffawed loudly at his own jokes. As grating as his poor sense of humor was, Levi came closest to snapping when the Lord tried to pinch a young female Corp's behind, when she came to serve them cheese and crackers.

Eventually, relief came with the return of Erwin. Levi excused himself from Lord Fluer's presence when he received the word, and made his way quickly to Commander's study.

Erwin's study was one of the nicer rooms in the garrison. There were large windows, lighting the room with a steadily fading glow. The windows were special luxury, since glass was somewhat expensive. These were necessary, though, as they provided the soldiers in the courtyard below the allusion that they where constantly being watched.

There was a thick, broad built oak desk, over which were various papers. Erwin considered his desk neat, which, by his definition meant keeping papers more or less in piles. Levi always had to fight back the urge to straighten them whenever he walked into the room.

"Ah, Captain Levi," said Erwin, not even looking up from the papers he was reading. "We were able to identify the corpse. Here are his files."

Levi took the papers from Erwin, who held them outstretched over the table. He had took longer to read them than another man might have, having received little education in his early childhood. However, he stubbornly refused to read aloud quietly to himself, or move his lips to form the words, even when he tripped over syllables as he read them in his head, uncertain of how they would sound.

The papers revealed that the deceased was young man by the name of Christen Roston, 23 years old. He had gained some respect among the officers. Always anxious to please said their notes. His talent was lackluster, but his character made him popular among his fellow soldiers, who would be quick to defend him.

When he finished reading, Levi looked up, and waited for Erwin to finish was he was writing. The Commander scribbled a few last words and then looked up. He bounced his pen back and forth across the table, clearly deep in thought. Levi noted that this was likely spreading ink over the table.

"He had been carrying a message." said Erwin, meeting Levi's eyes.

Levi felt a flush of something like excitement. "What was it?"

"It's nature is unknown," said Erwin, making a slightly sour face. "It had been passed directly to Roston from the Military Police headquarters with strict instructions not to read it."

Irritated, Levi reach out and stilled the pen that Erwin was still tapping on the table. "We could try to trace it back"

"But doing so could take weeks, months, especially if it originated in the capital," said Erwin, standing and beginning to walk towards the door. Levi followed. "I've sent men to do this, of course, but until they get back, we remain in the dark."

"If they get back." Muttered Levi.

Erwin pinched the bridge if his nose, pausing at the door. "It could just have been bandits that killed him."

Levi said nothing, but he shared a long look with Erwin, sharp, grey eyes meeting pale, blue tired ones.

"However, considering the circumstances, that seems highly unlikely," Erwin continued, opening the door.

* * *

Darkness, tenacious as ever, had come. It was dinner time, but Lady Fluer was still resting upstairs, suffering from stomach pains. According to Lord Fluer these pains came often to Lady Fluer, and were not to be worried about too much. The conversation was largely a back and forth chatter between Lord Fluer, and Erwin, who was more skilled at entertaining nobles than Levi. The dinner was a young lamb, roasted with herbs. Levi liked his flavors as clean and smooth as his clothes, the slight gaminess of the meat was not to his taste. He ate in slow, delicate bites. With luck there would be enough for cold sandwiches tomorrow for the rest of the troops.

The conversation was so boring that lulled Levi into an almost trance-like state. He pressed creases into the tablecloth and them smoothed them out. He pretended to take a sip of wine, and then ran a dampened finger across the rim, discreetly, hoping to make it ring, until Erwin gave him a look. He was nearly asleep, when his mind caught hold of something Lord Fluer had said and dragged him back to wakefulness: "So, I hear you plan on supporting the 'Robin Hood Tax'."

The Robin Hood Tax––so that's what people were calling it now––after some half remembered fairytale, about a man who stole from the rich and gave to the poor. It was a hyperbole if Levi ever saw one.

The actual tax was Erwin's idea. Levi had not been surprised; although Erwin was a lord, he certainly wasn't some posh, powder-brain. Levi supported it, of course. Since he was one of the defining figures of the Survey Corps, this meant that in the eyes of parliament the bill both the support of the powerful house of Smith and the Corps. Erwin had managed to get a few other houses to accept it, with some gentle and not so gentle prodding. It seemed nearly certain that it would pass.

Still, Erwin had warned Levi that some of the lords and ladies were practically shitting themselves in fear for what the tax would do to them, although he used much politer language to say so. There was a considerable amount of pushback, especially from the Fluer family.

The tax its self was simple: lower taxes on the lower classes considerably, encouraging agriculture, which hadn't expanded to nearly the degree that it could. Then, raise the taxes of the wealthy. It would, Erwin stated, cause great circulation of money. Likely, a few of the weaker noble families would sink into oblivion, while others would rise up from the merchant class; the main idea, though, was to take some of the pressure from the lower class, which had been particularly pinched in recent years.

Before answering Lord Fluers question, Erwin took a bite of lamb; Levi assumed to allow him longer to think. However, Levi didn't think there was any need to be overly cautious about it, so he answered in his Commander's place, right away. "Yes, we do support the tax"

Lord Fluer looked caught off guard by the answer. "Well," he grumbled. "It's a very _egalitarian_ idea." He paused, took a bite of meat in his mouth and began to chew, before waving his fork and continuing. "You see," he said, "in a perfect world it really could work. But unfortunately our world is not perfect. Oh, the common people might seem harmless, but you should know better than most, dealing with your men, that people can be surprisingly excitable. One small show of weakness, and you can end up with chaos. That's why the noble houses are so important––they're stabilizers––as long as they can maintain their power all will benefit in the order and logic that will rule. Weak men and woman who might be crushed otherwise by can be protected––"

Levi spoke with in a quiet monotone, cutting through Lord Fluer's speech."There are people starving." Levi calmly gazed at Lord Fluer, willing him to see the rage that seethed inside of him. "The elite worry, with recent droughts causing failures in their crop investments, so they tax the poor even more. And so people starve. When someone argues that it is ridiculous for this to occur, they're called egalitarian."

A stunned silence followed, broken only by the sound of Levi's napkin as he wiped away any grease that he may have collected in the corners of his mouth. Putting the napkin back down he pushed away his seat and stood up. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have work to attend to," he said, making his leave before he further fucked things up.

Levi spent most of the night working on paperwork in his study. His accommodations were not as fine as Erwin's but they were still more than suitable. He had both an office area, and a bedroom down the hallway. Usually the only time Levi went into the bedroom was to dust and clean; he chose instead to sleep on the old horse-hair coach that resided in his study, scratchy, but plenty comfortable. Currently, they were using his technical sleeping quarters to store gear in an effort to make room for the Fluers.

While working, Levi sat at the desk in a stiff backed old leather chair. He was glad he had left the dinner early, as there was a surprisingly large amount of paperwork, stacks upon stacks of forms and reports, which he strongly doubted that anyone would ever read.

Erwin would be angry at him for what he had done during dinner, and he would likely get a talking to, but Levi felt to remorse. The Fluer's were like leeches on society, the worst kind of nobles. And now, just because they had shown support for the Corps from time to time, they were coming to the garrison and treating it like their own private vacation house, a nice trip to the countryside for a while.

His eyes were beginning to blur the words on the page in front of him. Something about expenses––new blades––was that it? Thank the walls he didn't have to write a letter of condolences for the dead man's family. That would be terrible. He hated having to write letters to the families of soldiers who had died, because he always struggling to remember something about the person who had died, something to tell their family that would let them know that it wasn't pointless, not all of it, that the son or daughter, brother or sister, had contributed something, done something. But they all blurred out, when they were gone. He couldn't remember their faces, their quirks or their character. They were put into that category of his mind, self protectively labeled "do not think about", and on one hand he hated himself for this, but on the other he couldn't live with himself otherwise.

Levi woke up abruptly. His candle had died out, and his neck hurt from where it had been bent over the table. There was the sound of something being slid under the door, and then quiet, retreating footsteps. Lighting the candle again, he went forward to investigate. It was a letter; the paper was thin, made of creamy, only one sheet. The handwriting on it was cramped, but delicate, and took up not even a quarter of the page, even though the lines were widely spaced.

_There has been a plot to assassinate Erwin Smith and yourself._

_This, you are certain to know, would most likely lead to the eventual disintegration of the entire survey corps. Both of you play too crucial a role in both maintaining the Corps and public opinion._

_Information was gathered on this, and a messenger was sent from the interior to deliver it, so calamity would be best avoided._

_Unfortunately, both the messenger was found dead today by your own troops._

_Many of the original informants have also been assassinated._

_It is believed that this is a conspiracy stretching throughout many of the noble families._

_Keep alert. It is unknown when they may act._


End file.
